Physical study of a gliding arc discharge

Abstract

Gliding arc discharges are the subject of renewed interest in applications to a variety of chemical reactions. A gliding arc is created by a weakly ionized gas flowing between two electrodes. The reacting gas introduced at the base blows the arc column upwards. These devices are used in industry mainly for decontamination and general gas treatment. Either ac or dc can be used as the power supply. In order to analyze gliding arc motion, a multi-shot camera was designed with a very short exposure time. A high-voltage dc arc is studied and a simple theoretical model is given which enables determination of the conduction radius and axial temperature.